Reading Kills
by Lusios
Summary: Little did Madison know, she would not wake up the next morning to the smiling faces of her family. No, she'd wake up alright, but she'd awake in a place she'd least expected, a place where magic beyond her wildest dreams was waiting to change her life forever.


**Hey guys, this is the first story that I've published on the internet, any feedback and constructive criticism is welcome. I have a general idea of where I want this story to go, but to be honest this came to me on a whim and I'm kind of flying by the seat of my pants here. Enjoy!**

* * *

One thing Madison Rose Fief enjoyed more than anything was biking to her small town's library and taking a good, long stroll through all the fiction and fantasy books resting there. She enjoyed running her fingertips over the spines of the most interesting looking titles and tipping one out from the shelf to take a look at the cover. If it looked interesting enough, she'd read the back and take it home. Madison had a knack for picking out good books on sight, so she typically ended up packing about 10 of them into her backpack and taking them all home to often bit off a little more than she could chew, as she was a reader who liked to take things slow, chapter by chapter, and savor the story. Coincidentally, she racked up some high late fees throughout the past few years. Despite this, the librarians still adored her.

"As long as she pays the fees, I don't care how overdue the books are. I just love to see the child read so much." The main librarian, Ms. Fennec, had repeated this line numerous times to Madison's apologetic parents, Rose and Jason.

"You've got a lighter pile than usual today, young lady." Ms. Fennec commented with a small smile as she scanned Madison's card and the seven books she had presented to the woman.

Madison smiled timidly and shook her head a bit. "I've finally decided to read the Harry Potter series. Paisley's been nagging me for _months _about how good it is, so I figure to get the full effect I should focus my attention on this series alone for a while."

The librarian hummed in agreement and widened her eyes in mock shock. "Goodness, Paisley reading? What is the world coming to?"

Madison chuckled. It was true; Paisley Anne Rhodes had never been much of a reader for as long as Madison knew her, which was from first grade onward. In fact, everyone had a hard time getting her fiery spirited friend to simply sit down for more than five minutes at a time. Madison, however, enjoyed hanging around the girl immensely. It was as if her friend was some sort of medicine for her boring and monotonous life.

"I'll see ya later, Ms. Fennec!" Madison called out, with a wave over her shoulder, as she trotted towards the library door and out into the glaring heat of a hot, Minnesota summer day.

Madison opted to get started on her reading right away. She settled down in the grass under a shady tree near the park next to the library and slung her backpack off her shoulder. She reached in and dug around until she found _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_. Her phone slipped out along with the book and she paused in her task to text Paisley about her newest endeavor.

_guess what -MRF_

_hmm you finally traded off that ugly old phone you've had since you were 11 for a better one that actually works? -PAR_

_nope, guess again -MRF_

_im all outta guesses, whats up? -PAR_

_i caved, im reading harry potter -MRF_

Madison didn't bother to wait for her friend's excited reply, and with a snicker she flipped her phone shut and slipped it into her backpack, fully realizing how pissed off Paisley would be with her the next time they met. With a look of anticipation on her face, she picked up her newest book and examined the cover for a few seconds before opening it with a small smile and beginning her adventure.

"_Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal…"_

* * *

It was about ten minutes later and one chapter through when Madison was pulled away from the words with a call from her father, telling her to come home for supper. The young girl grudgingly shoved the book into her backpack, and then commenced to apologize to it for being a little too rough, which made her cheeks tint red just a bit when she realized a mother pushing her little girl in a stroller heard her as she passed by.

Upon arriving home, Madison excitedly explained her day's adventures to her parents and little brother over a full table of spaghetti, breadsticks, and mixed veggies. "And den, I went to da libary and checked out da 'arry 'otter 'eries." She attempted to spit out through a mouthful of stringy noodles. "It's _so _good, and I've only read one chapter so far!" She finished after a difficult swallow.

"Honey, don't talk with your mouth full, you're getting sauce all over. And Matt, I think you've once again managed to feed the dog more than yourself tonight." Rose, her mother, commented with a small, huffing laugh as their Collie, Tessa, circled around her brother's feet and licked up a few stray peas.

"Alright, alright, who wants to help clean the table and floor?" Jason, their dad asked with a twinkle of amusement in his eyes as his daughter, the slowest eater of them all, finally took the last bite of her breadstick.

Madison glanced up sheepishly at him from her plate. "Uh, Dad, I was actually kinda hoping I could go read."

Jason smiled and waved a hand at her. "Go ahead Mads, you've helped out a lot lately. I think you've earned your break." Madison smiled and hastily thanked her parents as she hopped up from her chair and ran to her room to settle in for a long night of reading. "Matt, Rose, I guess you're my cleaning buddies tonight!" She heard her father's voice echo from the kitchen as she plopped down onto her bed with _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_.

The hours ticked by, but still she read. Seven o'clock passed, eight o'clock greeted her from the clock, nine o'clock sprinted by, and before she knew it, she found her eyes drooping heavily over the words of the novel at 1:00 AM. Madison unwillingly fell asleep, the book resting open against her chest as it rose and fell steadily to the rhythm of her peaceful, sleeping breaths.

Little did Madison know, she would not wake up the next morning to the smiling faces of her family. No, she'd wake up alright, but she'd awake in a place she'd least expected, a place where magic beyond her wildest dreams was waiting to change her life forever.

* * *

**Credit to thatblueboxoverthere for editing. **


End file.
